Monte Verde

It's been a week since I've posted, and we've been learning a lot through lectures, and field trips. I probably haven't blogged much because frankly, there's been so much going on over here! Also, most of the week, I haven't gotten many pictures. 

Monday, we had an early wake up call, and had to be ready to go by 6 AM. Though tired as we were, it was completely worth it! We met up with a couple scientists who were studying birds by the cocoa and coffee collections in CATIE and got to see how they track birds and use that information to see how forests and environments are providing for each species. We saw a Basalisk Lizard (yes, those totally exist!), and got to eat a banana straight off the tree. Emilka opened up a cocoa fruit and we got to taste the fruit that eventually becomes chocolate! 

Thursday, we got to visit the recycling plant within CATIE and got to see first hand the work that goes into sorting recycling. It was a lot of work to separate different materials, such as plastic, metal, glass, aluminum, and paper. People would even leave food in the bottles/containers and we had to clean it out by hand. This is how it's done in the US as well. Manual labor that doesn't even make much in return. The main purpose of doing this though, is to try to reuse things as much as possible to reduce waste in landfills and help provide a cleaner earth. 

Thursday night after dinner, Enrique passed out Karaoke lists... So of course I had to participate. Complete with my ray bans, rain jacket, and funky hairdo, I rocked out to Everything by Michael Buble, and Hey Ya by Outkast. Made a few Tico friends who insisted on getting their picture with me. I see this as a good sign of my delightful singing skills.

Friday morning came swiftly as we climbed into a cramped van at 4 AM. Heading to Monte Verde for a fun adventurous weekend, mountain roads don't make one feel good on an empty stomach. Never the less, we made it to Monte Verde around 10 and got to stay at the cutest cabina at the Capulin Hotel and Farm. They have their own dairy farm that used to be used for income, but now they only use it for tourism.

A little cabin by ours that isn't used anymore. Still SO beautiful. 

Stopped a bit before getting there to take some beautiful pics!

Seriously. My favorite. On the side of the mountain right next to some great clouds. It's awe inspiring.

Everything is covered in moss and dew all day long. So great.

We got to see Coati families foraging for fruit. They are the cutest, and most unusual. Mix between racoon, monkey, lemur?

Our tour guide had a birding telescope and picked out some really great birds. This pic was taken through his lens. Baby hummingbirds waiting for momma to get back.

The road less traveled.

By the waterfall!

The fig strangler. It grows around an existing tree and slowly kills and devours it. It ends up being hollow on the inside. 

We were also lucky enough to see a male and female Kuedcal birds in the forest. This is the female, and they are pretty rare to see in Costa Rica at this time of year. Very beautiful.

On one of the 6 sky bridges in Monte Verde. So fun walking in the canopy!

So. I found a vine. And. I may or may not have tried to swing on it. Also. I may or may not have almost fallen off the edge of the mountain. It's harder than it looks.

The largest of the bridges!

An incredible view of this beautiful place.

Over the course of the weekend we went to a serpentine observatory, did a bridge walk in the canopy, went to the cloud forest and got to talk with our tour guide who was born in Costa Rica, but his parents founded Monte Verde in the 50s. Such a cool perspective of life and growth within a small amount of time. 

One of the main themes of the weekend for our group was thankfulness. Sometimes, it's hard to stay positive when things go wrong, but we must remember the gifts and blessings bestowed upon us. We get to experience a new culture, new beautiful views, and learn about the world around us. Let us not dwell upon small shortcomings, but rejoice in the joys of the present. 

As we're learning more and more about sustainability, I find myself thinking about the larger picture. Even if everyone in the world lived sustainable lives, you will still find war, famine, selfishness, and greed. We have been called to steward our resources well; however, only Christ can change this world permanently.  Only He can sustain us fully. Only He can make right the injustice. Only he can fulfill us. 

We still have about ten days left, but I can already tell that the amount of personal growth as well as knowledge about our world has been greater than any other trip, even mission trips I've ever been on. We are called to lead sustainable, resilient lives. In every area we should strive for excellence for the Glory of the God who created us. Be looking for a post soon about how we can achieve this!

God Bless, and Pura Vida!

Weekend numero uno!

Because there was so much going on this weekend, I decided to squish everything into one post! Friday, for our activity, Eric took us into town to check out the market. This market is a real treasure, because everything is producer grown! Everything is supposed to come straight from the source. This is good both for consumers and the producers because it cuts out the middle man, thus providing more money for the growers and less for consumers! Plus, you get to meet the people who grow the produce! It makes it very relationship oriented. We bought fresh honey and cinnamon rolls for the mornings, got to try my first passion fruit!

This is what I like to call, the alien fruit. Seeds are similar to pomegranate and very sour! Each one is connected to those little nodes reminds me of sour skittles! Very tasty!

We also got to try some other fruits!

They sell bananas still on the branch! 

Starfruit. Very pretty, maybe for fun summer drinks, quite sour to just eat.

Pe Ji Balle. It's a fruit, that tastes like a savory potato dish with tons of beautiful seasonings. But it's just been picked off the branch. So, yeah, not quite sure why we don't just eat these for every meal.

Red guava! It's the sweet kind. Much more palatable than the white kind that usually has worms inside...

This is like a leeche, and very tasty! Cool outer covering too!

This. is. the. best. Candied coconut. Made with molasses! Seriously, could eat tons of this stuff!

On Saturday, we slept in (as much as we could from the early rising sun) and made it a relaxation day! We went to the pool and swam and laid out to get our bronze on. We were then invited to go out with one of the master students from UNT and some locals for dinner and hanging out. We got to get dressed up and spent the night laughing and possibly getting slightly overcharged for the food.

Now, for the best part of the weekend, and also a part of the top 5 days of my life thus far, Sunday! We woke up around 7 and took a bus to zipline through the jungle and raft through the Pacuare River! Sadly, I didn't take my phone (for obvious reasons) so I didn't get any pictures, but hopefully I 'll get some up on facebook soon :) The tour was about 2 hours long and full of beauty! There were about 10 pieces of the course and some of them were daunting rappelling lines where we lowered ourselves to the ground from 50 ft platforms. It was amazing! They last zip line was about an 1/8th mile long and overlooked the rainforest! I would COMPLETELY recommend it! 

The second was even better. Imagine a high energy, 3 hour beauty tour in the one of the world's top 4 white water rafting rivers. And that's what I did! Seriously, the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my entire life! Level 4 rapids and an incredible view and quite the workout! I fell in at one point, which may or may not have made the experience more epic. I wish I could show you pictures, but then again, you should really just go see it for yourself :) 

Things I've taken for granted:

Fabric softener. Today (Monday), we were able to finally wash all our laundry. We had one of those pod things which was helpful, but then we put things on the line. They smell great! But they feel...a bit crunchy.

Drier weather. Don't get me wrong, it is SO completely gorgeous here. Breezes and rain every day. However, the mosquitos find me quite delicious. Like filet mignon. I've heard it could be linked to blood type. If that's the case, I may just end up getting a blood transfusion. But, it's whatever. 

I'll write more about our adventures we had today, tomorrow! Have a great day! God bless and Pura Vida!

Botanical Gardens

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is not speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth, 

their words to the ends of the world.

-Psalm 19:1-4

Our sustainability house is located right next to the beginning of the botanical gardens. Yesterday, we got to go on a 2 1/2 hour tour through it. It is so incredible how diverse the foliage is! This is just 1% of the fruit they have in the botanical garden, and each one is completely different. 

There are fruit that have as much caffeine as a red bull, fruit that are used as bowls, tons of different coffee bean varieties, smelly fruit, different kinds of citrus, and so much more!

This ecosystem is so intricately woven, that even little changes in bugs, moss, really anything can kill off species quickly. 

I just thought this was so beautiful :) 

This is a bamboo plant, and we were lucky to see it blooming! Bamboo trees only bloom once in their lifetime, which doesn't usually happen until the tree is about 80 years old. They say you only see it happen once in your life! 

Not sure what this one was called, but it is so fascinating! Both the male and female components are in the flower, so after pollination, it is able to fertilize it'self and will fall off the tree. It only blooms for a day.

This was a HUGE tree. Didn't even get all of it in the picture, but there are so many other plants/bugs on the tree that use the tree for support/nutrients.

An artist out of San Jose painted this. It's hard to see, but he painted on it the elements of nature. It represents how nature needs all of them to survive.

It has been wonderful here so far! It's so wonderful to get to see God's creation all around us. Our lecture time has been so fascinating. Sustainability is a very important part of everyday life to survive and thrive in the long run. We're now starting to focus our attention on sustainability as it concerns tourism. Stay tuned for more later!

Pura Vida!

Pura Vida!

Day one:
See ya later America! I'll be chilling with my fresco de pina for the next 24 days!

I've had the INCREDIBLE opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica for July! It is a sustainability seminar series that will focus on how environment, culture, and socio-economics work hand in hand to create a life more sustainable, both on the macro and micro side. Because it is also hospitality oriented, we will also focus on eco-tourism and sustainability of a country through the lens of the tourism industry!

I've already learned so much, and the end of day 1 (or two if you count travelling day yesterday). Me and Sara, a student from New Mexico, were the first to arrive yesterday. Our trip is led by a former UNT hospitality student who graduated with his masters in the MIST program that is operated out of a Costa Rican sustainability graduate school a few years ago. He now lives here in Costa Rica with his wife Joanna, who also helps with our study abroad group.

Today (Wednesday) was our first full day here, and it has been a blast! This will be the longest I will have ever been out of the country! It is such a relief to not have to fit in everything I want to do in 7 days! It's been so relaxing, and it also doesn't hurt that we have wifi ;)

Things I didn't expect I would be grateful for:
1. No AC. Here in Latin America, it's so nice most of the time, that AC isn't really necessary. Instead, we keep the windows open and get to listen to the crickets and birds. It is SO refreshing to just lay in bed and feel the breezes.
2. Limited wifi. Seriously ya'll. I get these 3 weeks to RELAX and not check on my phone every second of the day. It is SO freeing. Ya'll should definitely come to Costa Rica and try it out.

I'm sure that list will continue to grow as time goes by, but those are the more obvious ones :)

So, my schedule for weekdays starts with breakfast at 8, even though we all kind of wake up at 4....when the sun rises. Costa Rica's biggest export right now is pineapple and man have I already had my fair share! We then have either a lecture or activity from 9-11:30ish then walk to the University's cafeteria for some seriously delicious food! We then will have whatever we didn't have in the morning after lunch! We'll get to have some free time before dinner, eat dinner, and then free time till the end of the night. We'll have essays, research articles to read, and other things to do at night.

On the weekends, we'll have even more fun adventures! This weekend we plan to go white water rafting and ziplining on Saturday, and who knows what else!

I am so blessed to get to be with the group I'm in for these weeks! There's only 7 students in our group which is nice and very much more my style.

I'll try to write every couple of days to keep everyone informed! I'm having so much fun so far, and I know I'll continue to grow and learn while I'm here!

Sustainability House we're staying in!

My bunk! 

water lillies on a pond at campus